Dark Artifacts
by CasperAndCrutches
Summary: Katherine Herondale never really felt like she belonged in Gryffindor despite the fact that she was best friends with the Golden Trio. Now that the war is over, mysterious artifacts of tremendous power have been turning up. In comes Draco Malfoy, her new partner. He's determined to get Katherine to show everyone who she is. Will she let him? Draco/OC ; COMPLETE
1. The Ball

**A/N Hi guys! This is Casper! I'm graduating in May as an engineer and my semester is exceptionally easy! So I have a lot of time and plan on trying to finish some of the stories I started and stopped while busy in the past few years! If this story gets noticed and people want me to finish it then I will move it to the top of my list!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, sadly, own any part of the Harry Potter universe! Katherine is all mine but sadly that's it.**

 **Edit: I put up these stories just to see if people were interested! Now that at least a few are I'm fixing the format of them! When I wrote them they weren't designed to go online! Thanks to all who read these before I fixed them!**

"Oh my god, Katherine is that you?"

Grimacing at the high pitch squeal that came somewhere from behind her, Katherine slowly turned around to find Lavender Brown standing behind her. Arching an eyebrow, she drawled "Lavender, we shared a room for 6 years. We both know that you knew it was me. So what do you want?"

Now to anyone else this would seem a bit rude, but Lavender didn't even flinch.

"Well, I was just wondering if Ron was here?" she asked excitedly. K

nowing that this was about to turn into a one sided Lavender conversation, she sighed and prepared herself for a long conversation. Thankfully, Lavender was quickly interrupted by her best friend Ginny Weasley running up.

"Oh Kat, we have an emergency. Excuse us Lavender." Ginny said breathlessly before pulling Kat away.

"Ginny, what's the matter?" Kat asked very seriously.

"Well you see, my best friend was being accosted by a cupcake in pink tulle." Ginny replied very nonchalantly. They both turned to look at Lavender who, in a very fluffy pink gown, very much resembled a cupcake. Bursting into laughter Kat quickly hugged Ginny.

"Thanks Gin, you're the best. I didn't even want to come but Hermione pulled the 'you helped save the world Katherine. You're going.' And I didn't really want to argue with her."

"Oh of course! I'm glad you're here though. Maybe we'll find some attractive men here. I mean. We both didn't come with a date. We should definitely make sure we leave with one right? We look great so it shouldn't be difficult!"

"Sure Gin. We'll find you a date to take home. Got to give the papers something else to write about other than your 'Tragic Breakup' right?"

"Seriously, don't they understand that while I love Harry, it's not in that way. He and Hermione are perfect for each other and our breakup was completely mutual. Now we need to go find ourselves some guys."

"Ginny, no need. We've got admirers" Kat mentioned upon seeing all the appreciative glances they were getting from the men in the room. At first glance, one would think that they looked alike but being the same height and both having red hair was the end of their similarities. Whereas Ginny was slim, with bright red hair; Katherine was a little curvier, although upon closer inspection one could see that she was more athletic that she appeared, with dark red hair and bright green eyes.

Glancing around the room Katherine spotted the minister. _Just the person I've been meaning to speak to._ Turning to Ginny, she quickly said "Hey I've got to speak to Kingsley about something."

Glancing at Kat, she replied "Okay. Go have fun. I think I've found mine."

Seeing the predatory glint in Ginny's eyes, Kat was glad that she had an excuse to get away. Ginny was great and Kat loved talking to her about everything, including boys, but Ginny was a lot more forward in the flirting department and Kat learned from experience that getting in her way was a bad idea.

Walking up to the minister she smiled and got his attention.  
"Katherine! It's good to see you. How have you been?" Kingsley said warmly.  
"I've been good, and yourself?"  
"Good, busy dealing with everything but good. What can I help you with?"  
"I apologize for bringing up slightly more serious matters but I've been thinking about all the dark artifacts out there. Stolen, in people's houses, even bought and then of course the ones we don't know about! I just think that you should create a small, but not publicly known, group to take these artifacts and get them somewhere where they can't do any harm."  
Nodding the entire time, when Kat finished Kingsley looked at her and said "I completely agree, would you mind coming to my office tomorrow morning about 9 o'clock? I think we should discuss this further." Seeing this as slightly strange because she thought that she had done her part to tell him her idea, she nonetheless agreed to his meeting.

Deciding that she needed a drink, Kat walked to the bar and while waiting look around for Ginny. Not seeing her anywhere, Kat just stood there and quietly sipped her drink while observing everyone around her.  
"Kat!"  
Turning to see two of her other best friends Hermione Granger and Harry Potter she greeted them.  
"Hey you guys. How have you like the party so far? The ministry sure knows how to throw a ball huh?"  
"Definitely." Hermione replied before continuing "By the way you look gorgeous! I love your dress."

Glancing at her long black dress that hugged her curves, Kat smiled before gesturing to Hermione's pink dress "You look amazing as well! And you look okay too Harry" said Kat with a smirk. Looking at the both of them she decided that now was as good a time as ever to say her goodbyes  
"Hey so I'm going to head home."  
"Are you sure? It's still early!" Hermione asked.  
"I'm sure Hermione, I have a meeting in the morning and I'd like to get some sleep." Kat replied. Waving goodbye, Kat headed towards the exit when a lazy drawl interrupted her.

"Tsk tsk Herondale, I think that that was a lie that you told Pothead and Granger."  
Recognizing the voice, Kat didn't even spare a glance at the man who had materialized next to her and she responded icily.  
"It wasn't a lie. I do have a meeting, I just never specified the time Malfoy."  
Chuckling Malfoy smirked before telling her "I'm almost impressed Herondale, that's very Slytherin like of you."  
Intent on continuing the banter Kat turned to look at Malfoy and paused. _Damn. He looks good. I mean really good. I didn't think it was possible for him to look better after graduation. Focus Katherine, focus. He was a Death Eater, I mean yeah he didn't do anything I wouldn't do to save my family. And he still didn't do anything horribly wrong. And I did testify for him after the war. But no, Katherine focus. He's bad news. Death Eater. Arsehole Slytherin Prince.  
_ Kat notice that Malfoy was raising an eyebrow as if silently asking why she paused so long. Katherine quickly brought herself back to the present and leaned forward towards Malfoy before stopping near his ear and whispering  
"Maybe I am more Slytherin than people realize."  
Then turning before she stopped at stared at him some more, Katherine turned on her heel and walked out the door.


	2. The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not, sadly, own any part of the Harry Potter universe! Katherine is all mine but sadly that's it.**

 **Edit: I put up these stories just to see if people were interested! Now that at least a few are I'm fixing the format of them! When I wrote them they weren't designed to go online! Thanks to all who read these before I fixed them!**

Waking up the next morning, Katherine felt refreshed, something she hadn't felt in long time. She was surprised that she didn't wake up in the middle of the night from the reoccurring nightmare that she'd been consistently having. Last night was the first night she hadn't had one in months. Glancing at the clock she saw that she needed to get ready for her meeting with the minister so she shook off the feeling that even thinking about the nightmare brought and got ready to go. She apparated to the ministry at 8:45 but when she got there she was surprised to see none other than Draco Malfoy standing there. Considering it took her hours the night prior to get him out of her head, Kat was not happy about Malfoy's mysterious appearance.  
"Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing here?" She called out angrily.

Draco was lost in thought standing outside the minister's office. He was still trying to puzzle out why the minister had insisted on a meeting. All he had done was offer a suggestion. He was still trying to figure it out when a sharp voice yelled down the hall  
"Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing here?"  
Trying to not appeared flustered, he glanced down the hall to see who had yelled at him. "Ahh Herondale, I was just thinking that if there was one person in the whole world I wouldn't want to see, it would be you." He drawled out.  
"Please, we everyone knows you hate Weasley more than anything." She retorted.

"You'd have to be more specific. I mean, I knew you were dense, but there are an excessive number of Weasleys." He said with a smirk. Expecting a loud explosion to burst from anyone from Gryffindor, he was surprised when she smirked before replying "Malfoy you shouldn't insult yourself. If I'm dense, what does that make you? I mean, you and I both know that I was 2nd in our class and you were stuck in measly little 3rd place. And besides, I know that there are plenty of Weasleys. There's Bill, Charlie, Percy, the twins, Spawn of Satan and Ginny."

Amused at her term for the weasel he asked her "I know that Weasel got into a huge fight with everybody but I thought all had been forgiven, isn't that what you Gryffindors do?"

Raising her eyebrows she simply said "Well, I've never been a very good Gryffindor have I?"

Falling into silence because he didn't know what to say, he settled with observing her. _She's got a good mask, like either an upper-class pureblood or a Slytherin mask. Interesting. And I never really notice but she's looking good. Like really good. She's a Gryffindork remember? Goodie two shoes, member of the Order of the Phoenix. Hexed you plenty of times during school. If I remember correctly she and Weaselette once scored so many goals that it didn't matter that you finally beat Potty to the snitch. They still won. Yes but.._ Brought out of his musings by the minister inviting them in, he tried to compose himself as he walked in the office.

"Umm excuse me?" Kingsley asked while clearing his throat slightly to get Malfoy's attention. Smirking at Malfoy's obvious discomfort at being caught off guard, Kat schooled her face into staying professional and returned her attention to the minister sitting in front of them.  
"No offense Kingsley but why are we here?" Kat bluntly asked.

Smiling, Kingsley began to tell them why he brought them there. "Well you see, I was leaving work yesterday. We had had a couple of incidents involving cursed artifacts and it got me thinking. They're everywhere. Doing no good and people will either use them, on purpose or accidentally and people are going to get hurt. While getting ready for the ball, I thought 'we need to keep it small and out of the public's view. It won't do if everyone thinks we're coming after all of these artifacts. People will just hide them.' So I started to think about people I could ask to do this. It would be dangerous and very secretive and I'd need the smartest people we have. With those criteria I came up with two people I wanted to do this. Then what else happens, but both the people I want for this job, come up to me during the ball to recommend creating a team to go after dark artifacts."

Although he obviously wasn't finished, Kingsley stopped talking to let them take it all in Glancing at Malfoy thinking it strange that he would make that recommendation to the minister she found him assessing her about what was most likely the same thing. Raising an eyebrow, she turned back to the minister and summarized  
"So you want me and Malfoy to travel around the world collecting and eliminating cursed artifacts?"  
"Correct Ms. Herondale."  
"I've already put together a research team to identify possible objects, and they would research to find out as much beforehand so you could go in as prepared as possible. We just need you to be the team in the field. I understand that this is a lot of information to take in. Please feel free to think about it."  
Recognizing a dismissal when they heard it they walked out of the office together. Deciding she needed to speak to Malfoy about it, she stopped Malfoy with her arm. "Excuse me, you can get your arm off of me." He sneered at her. "Please, don't flatter yourself Malfoy. I wanted to ask you a question."

"You could've just said that."

"Please, you would've just ignored me."

"You're probably right."

"Whatever, so obviously we both thought that this whole thing is a good idea or we wouldn't have brought it up to the minister. I want to do it. It sounds interesting, it would be dangerous and fun. But I need to know if you're doing it. I won't do it with an incompetent wizard.."

"Incompetent!" Malfoy sputtered.

"Let me finish. So if you're not going to do it, I won't either because I don't want to risk getting stuck with someone incompetent.."

"I knew it, you just want me because you need someone who can save your incompetent arse." Malfoy said with all his usual arrogance.

"Merlin, do you know how to not interrupt people? So what I wanted to ask is, can you work with a blood traitor?"

Upon uttering those last two words, Malfoy's demeanor went from casual to irate. His body tensed and he stalked forward until he was practically nose to nose with her.

"Don't pretend to think you know me Herondale. You don't know anything about what happened. You and your precious order. You know nothing about what it was like." Malfoy whispered in a threatening tone.

Although she tried to not show it, she flinched slightly and Malfoy quickly took a couple of steps back as though he had been burned. Confused, Kat looked at him and saw what could've been a hint of shame in his eyes. But before she could ponder it further he turned, quickly called back "I'll tell the minister that I'm doing it." And then he walked away.


	3. The Offices

**A/N Hey everybody! I'm sorry it took me so long to get back but school and work got crazy busy for a moment there! Also, based on views and a few reviews of my stories, I was super inspired to write for all of them! As a result, I spent a good week or so plotting out the rest of the stories! I should be able to get onto a weekly posting schedule so look forward to that! Also, I finally got a few chapters out for all of the stories so without further ado, here they are! - Casper**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Harry Potter. *sniff sniff***

Kat spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and then grabbed some food for dinner. It wasn't until she went home that she thought about her run in with Malfoy. She honestly hadn't thought that he would've reacted like he did. He always seemed so cool and collected and although she should decide to not investigate, she was curious. Knowing that there was a passion underneath the surface intrigued her. Also, his upset reaction towards his menacing position when talking to her caused her to be interested about why he had that reaction. She pondered the interaction while eating dinner. Afterwards she owled Kingsley and was surprised when she received a response within an hour.

Katherine,

I'm so pleased to hear from you. If it suits you, please arrive to the ministry tomorrow morning. If you stop by my office anytime between 8:30 and 10 o'clock in the morning I will show you to your 'department' offices. See you soon.

-Kingsley

Kat read the letter and was shocked at the swiftness of the turnaround. There were already offices? Deciding that some sleep was in order, she got ready for bed and set an alarm for 7:30 the next morning.

Kat abruptly woke up from a strange dream involving Malfoy beating her over the head with a beaters bat. She glanced at the clock and groaned when she saw that it was only 6 in the morning. After rolling around and deciding that sleep was not going to come to her again that morning, she decided that she would go fly. Dressing quickly into a pair of shorts and a tank top, she apparated to the nearby Quidditch pitch. Ginny played as a chaser for the Holyhead Harpies and gave Kat access to the pitch. Kat played a lot growing up and even played as a chaser for Gryffindor, but she decided that the high publicity life of being a professional Quidditch player wasn't for her and declined all offers with teams that she received. Despite not playing anymore, flying still calmed Kat down and she was a well-known visitor to the pitch. She was pulled out of her daydreaming when players started arriving at the pitch. Glancing at her watch, she was shocked to see that it was already 7:45. She quickly left and apparated home, jumped into the shower, dressed and ate breakfast. Grabbing her coat she apparated to the Ministry at 8:25. She checked in and walked to Kingsley's office.

Upon arrival Kat was shocked to find Draco Malfoy lounging against the wall outside Kingsley's office. _I don't know why I'm surprised to find him here. He seems to just keep popping up around me the last couple of days._ Not wanting to appear bothered by his appearance, she ignored him as she walked to the other side of the wall and stood waiting. She didn't even spare him a glance when he looked at her and continued to ignore him until Kingsley let them into his office.

"Excellent! I should've known that you both would be here at the earliest time I mentioned. This just helps prove that you two are going to be excellent choices for this job." Kingsley exclaimed. "I'm sure that you two would like to see the offices and get down to business on expectations and such?"

Recognizing that Malfoy wasn't going to answer Kat deigned to answer for them while discreetly kicking Malfoy's shin "Absolutely." Standing up, Kat ignored Malfoy's glare and followed the Minister out of his office.

The offices for them weren't located too far from Kingsley's office, upon walking in Kat was astonished to see how large it was. The room was very open, yet each section of the room was clearly defined for a specific purpose. In one corner there were 4 desks, two of them already had papers on them. _Our supposed researchers I would guess._ In another corner was a mini library with 5 ceiling tall bookshelves. In another corner there was a small, but well equipped, potions laboratory. The rest of the room was obviously designed for spell work, dueling and training. Kingsley went on to explain that the mini library was magically connected to the actual ministry library. Books about specific areas of magic could be brought to the room without having to leave the office. Right about the time that Kingsley finished showing them around the room, the door to the office opened and in came two slightly familiar faces.

"Ah Ernie, Padma. I'm glad you arrived when you did. I just finished showing Draco and Katherine around." Turning to face us, Kingsley addressed us again. "In case you don't remember this is Padma Patil and Ernie Macmillan. They were in your year at Hogwarts."

Finally connecting the semi familiar faces with their names, Kat remembered that she had maybe said a couple dozen words to the both of them combined during school. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Malfoy greet the two of them.

"Patil. Macmillan." Malfoy said cordially while nodding his head in a greeting.

"Hello." Kat said hoping that nobody noticed her absentmindedness. From the slight smirk she saw Malfoy sporting, she doubted it.

Sensing the awkwardness that accompanied the silence after Kat's greeting, Kingsley excused himself. After his departure the room fell silent once more before Padma finally mustered up some courage.

"So I'm really excited to get to work in this 'department,' I would be absolutely useless in the field though! I'm really good at research so this position works perfectly for me."

Kat grasped at the olive branch that Padma was extending "As much as I like to learn and do research, I think that I would go barmy if I had to do it all the time. So when did the two of you start?"

"Yesterday afternoon, so really we haven't been here much longer than you." Padma replied easily before continuing. "Since we just started, we haven't found any concrete leads on any artifacts. So, well we " gesturing to Macmillan and herself, "thought that maybe you both could use this time learning; while we may not know exactly what each artifact will do. There are certain areas within Charms, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts that would be useful to look into and master. Similarly, healing potions and spells might be something useful just in case."

Malfoy chose that moment to speak up and shock the group, "that's a good idea Patil."

Blushing slightly at the faint praise Padma decided to extend the olive branch just a little further "Thank you, but you can call me Padma."

Malfoy nodded his head in agreement "Very well Padma, shall we Herondale?" he addressed Kat gesturing towards the mini library.

Shocked at his behavior towards Padma, so polar opposite from the way he treated her, she only nodded before following him towards the library.


	4. Training

**A/N Hey everybody! I'm sorry it took me so long to get back but I've been trying to write ahead! I finally finished another one of my stories, It's Complicated!, and I'm almost done with this one! That being said I'm ahead enough that I'm going to try to update every Sunday, once the story is finished I'll update on Thursday's as well! It's so hot outside that I'll curl up inside and write all day!**

 **Please Review! They make us authors exceptionally happy! - Casper**

A couple of weeks later Kat and Draco were back in the library in their office. They had spent their time since forming this department learning higher levels of different kinds of magic. Kat in particular focused on curse breaking, she assumed that most people with these kinds of artifacts would have everything heavily warded and she wanted to be prepared. Malfoy had been focusing on spells and potions that would allow for moving undetected. They decided that having both of them understand (and be able to perform) how to counter magic on objects was also important. Both were adept at understanding Ancient Runes already so they studied that together, but it wasn't as big a focus.

One day the two were sitting quietly in the chairs that they had conjured by the bookshelves when Malfoy suddenly spoke.

"Why aren't we practicing dueling?"

Shocked at the sudden noise, Kat took a moment to respond "Oh, I don't know to be quite honest."

"We've never spoken about what would happen if something happens and we're caught. I can't imagine that they would just let us walk out." Malfoy said so slowly it was like he was mocking Kat.

"I know that. I was just commenting on how I'm surprised that we've never thought about it. I suppose you want to practice some now?"

Malfoy nodded and they both moved towards the middle of the room. Before they got started Kat turned to Malfoy when she realized something.

"We need to set ground rules."

"Please don't tell me you're going to let your Gryffindor sensibilities get in the way?"

Despite the fact that the two of them hadn't spoken much, there hadn't been animosity between them. They both were quite intelligent, and after the first couple of days together, neither had any issue asking the other for clarification or help. After their interaction at the ball when she let down her guard while ogling him, she was determined to hate his personality in order to try and ignore her attraction to him. However, after dealing with a decidedly less antagonistic Malfoy the past few weeks, the attraction was getting harder to ignore and it was only getting stronger. In her opinion, she had behaved admirably and shown incredible restraint. Deciding to throw restraint to the wind she moved closer so that she was able to whisper in his ear.

"Trust me Malfoy, I have no such sensibilities. But I don't think it's a good idea to do some of the things to you that I would like to."

She looked at Malfoy at this point and felt a slight thrill when she watched his eyes darken into a stormy grey color. Determined to keep the upper hand she stepped back and spoke in a normal voice again.

"I'll have no qualms using any means necessary to achieve our goals; however, I don't think it wise to be using spells here that could seriously harm each other. That would be counterproductive."

Kat was surprisingly pleased when she noticed that his eyes had not lessened in their darkness, but despite his apparent inner conflict, he just nodded in agreement.

They practiced dueling and didn't stop when Padma and Ernie informed them that they were leaving. The other two kept pretty regular hours, from about 8 in the morning until about 4:30 in the afternoon. They barely acknowledged the other two leaving used to their hours by this point. Kat and Malfoy were both perfectionists and wanted to be fully prepared for anything that could come up. As such, the two of them were there from about 7 in the morning until 6 or 7 in the evening. At one point their current duel had been ongoing for about 40 minutes and Kat was getting tired. Dueling for over 4 hours with minimal breaks was seriously testing her endurance. _The git over there doesn't even look tired. I mean his face is not red and splotchy like I'm sure mine is, and his hair! How is it still so perfect looking?! I don't even want to think about what my hair looks like._ She was brought out of her musings as she was forced to dive and roll away from what looked to be a jelly legs jinx. They had both started out with solely non-verbal spells; however, as time went on, they both were forced to speak the spells out loud. Now everything was mainly verbal except for the random silent spell every once and a while. Deciding that she was either going to win off of this spell or she was going out, she threw all her concentration into a non-verbal bat bogey hex. Surprised since Kat hadn't used a non-verbal in over 20 minutes, Malfoy wasn't prepared for the spell and Kat's spell hit him dead on. Immediately after sending the spell, Kat collapsed onto the ground and stared at the ceiling. When, after a few minutes, she still hadn't be hit by a spell nor had Malfoy said anything she glanced over at him.

"Bloody Hell" was all that she said once she looked at his face. Her spell had apparently been much stronger than she had anticipated because Malfoy's face was covered in blood and his nose appeared to be broken by the bats that had been coming out of his nose.

"Malfoy, I swear I didn't mean to do that. I used the last of my energy in that spell. Here let me fix it." Ignoring his protests she grabbed his face.

"Episkey. Tergeo. There all better" She smiled satisfactorily looking at his now healed and clean face. Her smile faltered when she noticed how close that they were together. She stood up exceptionally quickly and started speaking again. "Really though, I am sorry. I didn't mean for it to be that strong."

"I gathered as much. At first I was pissed as hell. Then I saw you lying on the ground not even paying attention and I realized that that must have been a last ditch effort. Now I'm just impressed because that was a hell of a spell." Malfoy drawled out before collapsing on the ground next to Kat.

"You know. This isn't very dignified. What would your mother say?" Kat joked before realizing who she was talking to. At the silence that followed her comment she hastily said "Sorry. I forgot. I don't know anything about your life."

A moment later he responded, "No you're right. My mother would be astounded and ashamed of my lack of etiquette here."

Kat looked over and upon seeing the slight smile on his face, she relaxed and they both fell into silence once more.

About 20 minutes later Kat abruptly sat up.

"I'm hungry. I want food."

"I'm hungry as well. Do you want to go get food?"

Kat looked at him in surprise. "You won't mind being seen with me?"

He just shrugged in response "Why would I care?"

He stood up and offered his hand to Kat, slightly hesitantly she placed her hand in is. She was; however, unprepared for him pulling her up so soon after and she stumbled into him. If not for him placing both hands on her waist, they both would've fell to the ground. She glanced up to thank him but the words died in her mouth when she saw the way that he was looking at her. Yes, she found him attractive and of course she would love nothing better than to shag him senseless. But they worked together and she wasn't prepared to have to deal with the aftermath. After the war, she had learned the hard way that sleeping with someone who you weren't emotionally attached to was a bad idea. She wasn't about to make the same mistake again. She quickly moved out of his arms, called her cloak to her and gestured that she was waiting. Ignoring the way his chuckle made her feel, she walked with him to the floo and then flooed to Diagon Alley.

Upon arriving, they went to a little café near Flourish and Blotts. They sat down and began talking about some of the spells that they had come across in their research. Kat was happy that he enjoyed many of the same things that she did. They both got into an animated discussion about Quidditch, he was a fan of the Falmouth Falcons while she favored Puddlemere. However, he had no issues talking about more intelligent topics such as politics, arithmancy, ancient runes, transfiguration or potions. It was when they started talking about potions that the wheels began turning in Kat's head.

"Potions!" She exclaimed interrupting Malfoy.

"Yes. Potions, that's what we've been talking about the last few minutes. I was under the impression that you were semi intelligent."

"Prat. We should brew some healing potions! Maybe even practice some healing spells if we're going to continue to practice dueling."

Malfoy was silent as he thought about it and then nodded his head.

"You're right. It's foolish to expect that we'll never get hurt. Another thing that we should look into brewing would be polyjuice potion. It's more effective than simple glamour charms."

Kat nodded her head in agreement before checking her watch. "Oh hell, I have to go. I'm meeting up with Ginny tomorrow morning and I'd like to get some sleep. Days with her are always exhausting!" She left some money on the table and with a wave to Malfoy she apperated home.


	5. Gossip

**Disclaimer: I still do not own HP. Sadly.**

 **A/N: Sorry for the slight delay. I've been going through a rough transition so it's taken me a bit to get back into everything! But I should be updating more consistently now! Since this story is done I'm going to try for twice a week!**

 **Again I'd like to remind everyone that I'm not an English Major so my grammar, punctuation and sometimes my tenses might not be perfect or get messed up. But I write because I enjoy it so please no flames! As always reviews are appreciated! They really do give me incentive to upload on time when I get busy!**

 **-Casper**

Kat woke the next morning to the sound of a voice coming from her living room.

"Katherine Herondale. Are you not up right now? What has you still in bed?"

Kat groaned when the voice got louder and louder and then finished with Ginny standing next to her looking down in mock disapproval. "Unless you have a great reason, like a late night with a guy, I will be excessively angry."

Kat thought about talking with Malfoy the night before and decided that Ginny would just blow it out of proportion.

"Nope, nothing exciting. I just grabbed dinner with a coworker. We worked through dinner, I didn't feel like cooking so we just grabbed food."

Seeing the look of curiosity on Ginny's face at that admission, Kat quickly jumped out of bed and rushed to the shower. She took one of the quickest showers in her life and tossed on a sundress, sandals and a light jumper. She shoved her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head and turned to Ginny.

"Ready."

Ginny visually inspected her before nodding "10 minutes. You're getting slower."

Kat just rolled her eyes before grabbing Ginny's arm and apparating to Diagon Alley.

The two girls spent the rest of the morning getting their nails done and shopping. The two of them, being the Quidditch fanatics that they are popped into Quality Quidditch Supplies for half an hour; however, the rest of the morning they spent trying on the latest fashion (and buying some too!) Around lunchtime the two went to a nearby café for lunch. Since it was a beautiful day, they sat outside. They were chatting when all of a sudden Ginny stopped talking and stared at a spot behind Kat. Kat went to turn around when she heard a lazy drawl from behind her.

"Weaselette, looking stunning as always."

Recognizing Malfoy's voice, Kat just rolled her eyes; however, she jumped when he sat down very close to her and set some money on the table.

"This is your change from last night" he started in a normal tone of voice, but then moved to whisper in her ear "I've never had a woman actually run away from me."

Now what he had said wasn't particularly suggestive but the way he said it made her heart race. She really didn't want to see his face so she turned to face Ginny. A little too late she realized that she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Ginny's face. She was correct, Ginny was looking at her with one eyebrow raised and apparently couldn't contain her questions.

"Last night. You didn't tell me you were with a guy last night."

Kat turned a shade of red similar to her hair and not for the first time, Kat cursed her pale skin. She didn't think that it was possible to turn any redder but she did when Malfoy answered for her.

"Oh, ashamed of me are we Katherine?"  
"We're coworkers! We just grabbed dinner after work! That's all. Also since when do you call me Katherine?!" Kat sputtered out.

"But you didn't mention that it was Malfoy!" Ginny insisted

"I didn't think that it was important." Kat fired back.

Malfoy, until this point, had been perfectly content to watch Kat flounder. Here however, he answered Kat's question.

"I happen to like your name. You can call me Draco if you wish. Also, maybe you're harboring secret feelings for me. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I am quite the catch."

Determined to regain some of her dignity Kat quickly retorted.

"You wish I had feelings for you. Merlin, your ego is the size of Hogwarts."

She was feeling much more composed, but then Malfoy went and did something unexpected. He leaned back over and brushed his lips over her ear while whispering "Who wouldn't want that?"

Before she could respond he stood up and addressed the table "Ladies. I'll see you Monday Katherine."

After he had walked away Kat looked across the table to a clearly curious Ginny. When Ginny didn't say anything but continue to stare, Kat snapped.

"What are you looking at?!"

"I've never seen you so flustered. You are always so calm and composed. Ironically more Slytherin than Gryffindor but that's neither here nor there. He flustered you." Ginny accused.

Kat thought about lying to Ginny but then thought better of it and eventually spilled. Kat spent the next half hour explaining everything that had happened since the ball. The meeting, their first day at the office and the last couple of weeks training. When Kat finally admitted that despite still finding him annoying, he wasn't a bastard anymore. Ginny then asked the important question.

"Do you fancy him?" Ginny questioned.

"No!" Kat adamantly replied. At Ginny's face she amended her statement.

"Truly, we have some things in common and he's not as much of an arse anymore."

Ginny smiled at the statement and then clarified her previous question.

"So you want to shag him then."

Kat stared at Ginny before finally relenting under Ginny's stare.

"Yes. Like senseless. It's awful. We're not friends or anything. We've just really started speaking to each other over the last few days. But apparently I don't care about that. Now please can we just finish our day of shopping and talking about other topics?!" Kat begged to Ginny and thankfully, Ginny obliged.


	6. The Mission

**Disclaimer: I still do not own HP.**

 **A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it! - Casper**

About a month later Kat was walking to the offices with Draco. After their meeting in Diagon Alley, they both made an effort to call each other by their first names (it didn't always happen but they were trying). When she walked in to the office she was surprised to see Ernie and Padma already there. She glanced at Draco to see if he knew why. Judging by the look on his face, Kat guessed not. Turning back to the room she addressed Padma.

"Padma, what are you guys doing here so early? You were here when we left last night and you beat us here. Is something the matter?"

At Kat's voice, Padma jumped.

"Oh I didn't hear you come in! But yes! For the last week or so we've been tracking rumors of a bracelet that can poison people. From what we can gather from our research, it would seem that it can place poison on the skin just from a brief touch. From there it seeps into the skin and then into the blood. Usually the person doesn't end up living for more than 5 minutes. What makes this exceptionally dangerous is that because the bracelet doesn't need much contact, a handshake could cause someone's death.."

Padma trailed off after that and Kat had to prompt her to finish her story

"And…"

"Oh right, well yesterday it showed up at an auction. It was labeled by something else but by checking a few facts and doing a little digging, we're positive that the bracelet sold was actually this artifact. It's affectionately known as the Black Widow."

Draco interjected at this point "Do we know who bought it?"

Ernie responded to that question "We only know the name of the family that bought it, not the specific person. We were actually hoping that you could help us with that. The money the vault came from was Zabini."

Everyone turned to look at Draco, unsure of what his reaction would be. They were surprised however when Draco just rubbed his hand through his hair before muttering "Well shit."

Seeing that no one else in the room was going to ask him anything, Kat stepped up.

"What?"

"The person we're after is Mrs. Zabini, Blaise's mum. She has a history of acquiring new rich husbands and then they die from weird circumstances soon after. They've never been able to prove anything, that's why she's not in Azkaban. She also just got married three months ago and she's hosting a party next weekend. I would bet that she's going to use the bracelet at the party. If she's there the entire time, no one could ever pin the murder on her. And before you say anything I'm okay. Blaise's mum has always made me nervous. Let's just get this done."

They all nodded in response and sat down to create a plan to steal the Black Widow.

* * *

Draco ended up with an invite to the party and they considered using that as their in; however, it was decided that Mrs. Zabini would likely have the bracelet on at that point and stealing it from her person would be excessively difficult. So, in an attempt to save the new Mr. Zabini, they decided to go in the day before.

The day before the party Kat was at the office early trying to decide what to bring. They had decided on polyjuicing themselves as staff helping set up for the party to get into the house. Once in, they would sneak off and find a place to hide out until nightfall. The plan was sound, yet Kat still felt apprehensive. Thus, with still over 2 hours until they needed to leave, she barricaded herself in a pile of books and tried to calm herself with one of the only ways she knew how. Books.

That was how Draco found her half an hour later, reading feverishly and muttering to herself. She was so absorbed into her book, that she didn't notice him until it was too late. He walked up behind her and pulled the book she was reading right out of her hands.

"Malfoy. Give that back."

"No, you need to calm down. You know everything in this book already."

"Maybe I missed something!" Kat said as she frantically tried to get the book from Malfoy "There isn't such a thing as being over prepared."

"No." Draco conceded "But there is such a thing as trying to prepare so much you forget things."

Kat looked affronted at the suggestion that she could've forgotten something. "Like what?!"

"Like the fact that in trying to get this book back from me, you never once tried to do magic. You need to calm down. You're brilliant and you are ready. Stop worrying."

 _Why is he being so nice to me? He's right. I know this. I'm ready. But still, why is he calming me down. Shouldn't he be happy to just watch me panic? I don't understand him. Also if he could stop looking so bloody fit that'd be great._

Obviously seeing the, at least initial, chain of thought that Kat was having, Draco intervened before she could speak.

"Besides, I can't have you panicking when we get there. I'm already going to have to do most of the work, I would prefer not to get fired because I left you there because you were useless."

Upon seeing the amused glint in Draco's eyes she smiled as she realized that he was trying to make things normal again.

"Please Malfoy. If anyone's going to have to carry the team. It'll be me."

* * *

Two hours later, they found themselves hiding in the tree line just outside where the apparation point was. The hired staff would be arriving any moment so they took some polyjuice and changed into the uniforms of the staff. As soon as they began to arrive, Draco and Kat apparated to that point and blended in with the crowd. When they walked through the main doors, they walked purposefully down a side hall until they found an empty room which they quickly ducked into.

There they waited a few hours until nightfall and all the staff had left. Kat woke Draco and together they moved towards the entrance hall.

"So where do we think she'll keep it?" Kat asked Draco hoping that he would have an insight due to his pureblood background.

"Why are you asking me?"  
"Pureblood."

"You're a pureblood too."

Kat just rolled her eyes at Draco's statement "Yes, but if you think that we have a mansion this size you are seriously misinformed. I figured, since Malfoy Manor is enormous, that you would have an idea."

"Well, normally I'd say it would be in the vaults down in the dungeon; however, the party is tomorrow and I think she'll keep it somewhere close. Just in case."

"Okay. To the residential wing it is."

They spent the next three hours searching all the rooms in that wing. They only had a few more rooms left to search and Kat was beginning to think that they'd have to break into the vault when Draco popped his head out of the next room.

"I found it."

Kat entered the room and was faced with a beautiful bracelet. It was a silver bangle with emeralds and diamonds sitting in a diamond pattern all the way around the bracelet. Kat moved around the bracelet, analyzing every part of it.

"Here." She said pointing to the underside of the bracelet where an onyx sat in the middle of one of the diamonds. "It looks like a statement part of the necklace; however, it's sitting on the back. I can also sense the dark magic coming from it. I would bet that one of these gems acts as a switch, effectively allow the poison to seep from the bracelet. Touch the gem again and the bracelet becomes 'harmless.' "

Draco nodded and took Kat's word, she had focused on curse breaking and was much more advanced in the area than he was. He sat down with a plain silver bracelet and began multiple advanced transfiguration spells to make it look like the bracelet they were trying to steal. While he did that, Kat began taking off the protection spells around the bracelet. She was slightly disappointed when the spells were simple and fairly easy to take down. She then pulled out a magic dampening box and levitated the bracelet into it. Draco then set the fake bracelet on the stand and Kat put up the same spells from before. They were about to leave when they heard the door begin to open. Kat began to look around for a place to hide but was quickly pulled into a small cupboard in the room by Draco.

They both peaked through the crack and watch as Mrs. Zabini walked over to her bracelet. After a quick inspection, she must've assumed everything was fine because she turned around and left the room. They both breathed a quick sigh of relief before turning to look at each other. As soon as they did so, Kat wished that she hadn't. The cupboard was exceptionally small and they were standing face to face, with most of their bodies touching. Against her better judgement she looked up at Draco and saw him look at her, his eyes the same stormy grey that she had seen numerous times since they started working together. With shock it finally hit her that the stormy grey represented desire. He glanced down at her lips and then up again and she knew he saw the same desire reflected in her eyes. He brought one hand up to the back of her neck and the other hooked around her waist. She only had time to think that they fit together perfectly before his lips touched down to hers. He kissed her for a few moments before slightly pulling back. Then before Kat knew what she was doing, she snaked her arms around his neck and pulled his lips back to hers. While that first kiss had been gentle, the next one was anything but. He pulled her even closer to her body as he ravaged her mouth. He apparently wasn't happy with how they were situated because he lifted her body up and pushed her back against the side of the cupboard. Kat instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to kiss him back. At this point his foot hit a bucket and it fell over creating a large 'clank' sound as it did. The noise shocked Kat out of the situation and she quickly pulled back and jumped out of the cupboard.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit. What the bloody hell was I thinking?! If that noise hadn't occurred who knows what would've happened. Ha. Don't lie to yourself Kat, you would've shagged him in the broom closet._

Kat was unwilling to look at Malfoy, but if she had she would've noticed the same confusion all over his face.

 _What was that?! That's Herondale? I can't stand her. Not that I can remember what I can't stand about her. But even so, a broom closet? For Merlin's sake. I've never been so into a snog that I wouldn't have waited until we got somewhere more decent._

Somehow the two of them got out of the house and apparated back to the Ministry. They walked to the Department of Mysteries and gave the unspeakable on duty the bracelet. They made a quick stop at their office to place all of their supplies back.

While Malfoy was busy putting away the potions that they had brought, Kat quickly placed everything on her desk and slipped out before he could notice.


	7. Dinner

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it! - Casper**

When Kat woke up next, she was shocked to see that it was almost noon. Within 10 min, she had showered, tossed on a set of robes and apparated to the Ministry. She ran to her office and barged through the door terribly out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late guys! I overslept. I think I woke up 15 minutes ago." She wheezed.

"Kat! You look like you're about to pass out. When was the last time you ate?! Also Draco's not here yet either so sit down."

Kat followed Padma over to her desk and sat down rather exhaustedly. "Probably lunch yesterday? I'm not entirely sure."

"Here, I brought a lunch today but I can go grab more food later. Eat mine."

Kat thought about protesting but her stomach decided that food was more important. A few minutes later she addressed Padma again.

"Thank you. Here's some money for lunch. I appreciate it. Now, I'm going to sleep again. Wake me when Malfoy gets here."

With that, she walked over to the chairs by the bookshelves and curled up and went to sleep.

\- Draco's POV -

Draco Malfoy was not usually a late sleeper so when he woke up at 2:00 the afternoon after their first mission, he was shocked. He decided that Kingsley would want to talk to Katherine and him, so he decided to head into work for a short day. The entire time that he was getting ready he tried to forget about the kiss with Katherine the night before. He was mostly successful as he showered, and ate lunch. He put on a set of casual robes and apparated to the Ministry. Within a few minutes he was at the door to the office and entering. When he walked into the room Padma gestured at him to be quiet waving her hand in the direction of their mini library. Confused he wandered over towards where she pointed and found a sleeping Katherine in one of the chairs. Seeing her brought back all of the memories from the night before, and so he took a moment to quietly study her. She wasn't wearing any cosmetics, her hair was in some sort of messy pile on top of her head and she looked exhausted, she was definitely more pale than usual. Despite all that, Draco found that he thought she still looked beautiful.

He heard his name being called softly and he turned to find Padma with Kingsley. Deciding that now was a good time to wake Kat, Draco gently shook her.

"Kat. Katherine. Wake up, Kingsley's here."

She slowly opened her eyes and groggily muttered "Draco?"

He just replied "Yeah, Kingsley's here" while ignoring the way he felt from the husky way she said his name.

\- Kat's POV -

Kat was brought out of a very delightful dream by the sound of Draco calling her name. Confused she opened her eyes and looked out at him. Ignoring the soft look in his blue-grey eyes, she just said his name. When he said that Kingsley was there she quickly stood up and tried to make herself look presentable.

"Please Katherine. No need. Stay seated. We can do this in these lovely looking chairs." Kingsley spoke to her before taking a seat across from the chair she had been in. "Now if you don't mind, I would like a report of what happened. An oral one is perfectly fine, I won't need a written one."

The two of them sat down and proceeded to tell him everything that had happened the night before; however, they both left out what happened in the cupboard, simply saying they hid in there and then left.

"Well, it sounds like it went as well as could be expected! The unspeakables have already started analyzing the bracelet and so far they are fascinated by it. They're looking to replicate it, but using healing magic instead. Now I insist you take the rest of the day off and rest. You can start doing more preparation tomorrow. But for today. Rest." With that final word, Kingsley rose and left the offices.

"I'm hungry. I'm going to get food and then go home." Kat addressed the entire room. In an attempt to forget the previous night, she turned to Draco before addressing him.

"You're welcome to join me for dinner if you'd like."

Draco only nodded but stood to grab his robe.

They quickly made their way to the same café as last time and were quickly seated. Their food was brought to them and they were soon carrying on a conversation about possible ways to prepare more for the next mission. They were talking about possible transfiguration options when Malfoy suddenly paused.

"I've got it!" He exclaimed.

Kat was very confused. "Got what?"

"Animagi! That could be very useful. One of us could have a very useful form. We should look into how to do it. Maybe we should contact Professor McGonagall…"

Draco stopped talking as he noticed that Kat was looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

Kat nodded "Yes, sorry. It's just. Well, I'm already an animagus."

Both of his eyebrows rose at that admission.

"Well that would've been useful to know before now." He responded rather icily.

Kat looked chastised at his tone "Please don't be like that. This is really personal…." she paused for a

moment before continuing "Nobody else knows."

He looked perplexed at that comment "Nobody. As in not Potter, Granger or Weasley?"

"Nobody. Not even Ginny."

"Why?"

"I learned how to do it our 7th year. As you may have noticed, I didn't go with the other three hunting for horcruxes; instead I went back to school and tried to help the order from inside Hogwarts. A few months in I thought the same thing as you did, being an Animagi would be extremely useful in trying to get information around Hogwarts undetected. Especially if I had a useful form. So I talked to McGonagall. I've always been good at Transfiguration and I think we both needed something to take our minds off of everything. She agreed to help me. It took me 4 months. I finally finished my full transformation right after the Christmas holidays. But unfortunately I'm not anything common, native to the area or small. I knew early on what my form would be but I was hoping for some reason that maybe I could still manage to use it. I used it for a little bit here and there. I also never told Ginny because if I was the only one who knew the information, they wouldn't have to lie. Then after graduation I never saw a point in bringing it up."

Draco looked impressed. A 17 year old learned how to become an animagus at the school being monitored by Voldemort and his followers.

"Well, what's your form."

When she only looked super uncomfortable he decided to make a trade.

"What if I tell you something personal in exchange."

Shocked at the offer, Kat took a moment to process it and then nodded her head in agreement.

"If you remember our first meeting with Kingsley, I got angry outside the office when you compared me to Lucius. I have no desire to be like him at all. Malfoy's, above all else, are family oriented. He cared more about power than family and it ruined us. He was an awful father and an awful husband. Every once in a while, he would hit my mother. She, of course, lied and said that she was clumsy and tripped. Or that something fell and hit her. But I saw him do it a couple of times. I don't know if you remember, but when I moved closer to you, you flinched and all I could see was my mother and my father."

Kat sat there for a moment with her jaw agape, but after a moment she responded.

"I do remember flinching. I'm sorry for making you feel that way, it wasn't intentional. Just in a non-magic fight, I'll lose every time and it was instinct to flinch."

"It's not your fault at all, don't ever think that it is."

Upon deciding that Draco looked especially forlorn about the conversation, she quickly put some money on the table, grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the café and into a small deserted alley.

"Katherine, what are we doing?"

"I wanted to say thank you for telling me, I can tell that that was hard for you. So, in repayment, I'll do you one better than telling you what my animagus is. I'll show you."

Then without another word, Kat stepped back and with a quick blink of her eyes, she transformed into her animagus form.


	8. Confession

Almost as soon as Kat had transformed, she had turned back into a human. She ignored Malfoy's shocked face, grabbed his hand and walked with him out into the busy streets of Diagon Alley. After a few more minutes of silence, Kat looked at Malfoy.

"So you're not going to say anything? To be honest, I'm surprised you've been so quiet."

"Me too, but I figured that you wouldn't want to talk about it."

Despite the thoughtfulness that Kat had seen before, she was still shocked at the consideration that he was giving her.

"Thank you. I'm still kind of in shock that I actually showed it to you. But I needed to; however, I don't think that I'm really prepared to talk about it right now. I'm going to go sleep, but I'll answer any questions tomorrow?"

Smiling at him and touching his arm gently to show her thanks, she then stepped back and apparated home.

* * *

Kat walked into the office the next morning feeling slightly apprehensive. She was prepared to answer any questions that Malfoy had, but it didn't negate the fact that she hadn't talked about her animagus in years. As she walked in she noticed Draco sitting in his chair reading and she took a moment to study him. _He looks so peaceful like that._ She was brought out of her thoughts by Padma and Ernie walking in behind her. She found some courage and spoke aloud to the entire room.

"Hey everyone, I have something I need to tell you all and show you. If you could all come and sit down?"

Everyone looked confused but did as she asked. She then briefly described that her seventh year she learned how to become an animagus and that she hasn't used her form since then.

"I've decided that it's time to start telling people and who better than those I work with?"

Kat glanced at Draco and was happy to see understanding in his eyes. She had left a lot of the personal issues out of her story this time and just stuck to the facts and she was glad to see that Draco wasn't going to bring any of it up.

Padma looked super excited.

"Oh, I'm so excited. I've only really seen McGonagall transform. What's your form?!"

The former Ravenclaw was so excited that Ernie placed a hand on her arm to try and get her to calm down.

"Oops, sorry. It's just such a fascinating process."

"Well I'd be happy to talk to you about it some other time if you'd like. I never mentioned it because I don't think my form would be very useful but.."

She then stood up and moved into the middle of the chairs and transformed. She quickly shrunk and grew hair and then was standing on 4 legs. She glanced up at the people in the room and was happy to see that none of them looked terrified.

"Ooo. You're a panther right?" Padma asked.

Kat just nodded her head and padded over towards Padma who put her hand out.

"Can I touch you?" She asked.

Kat nodded again and then Padma placed her hand on Kat's back and stroked her fur. Kat instinctively stretched out her back. She looked over at Draco and saw him staring at her with an expression she couldn't decipher. So she turned around and padded over towards him and sat near his feet and looked at him. He didn't move or say anything so she was shocked when he reached out his hand and stroked her head. She was super embarrassed when she accidentally let out a low purr and quickly moved away and transformed back into a human.

"So yeah, that's me. It's not exactly inconspicuous but I can be super quiet and my senses are fantastic like that."

Padma looked like she was having a hard time sitting still because she had so many questions.

"How about we order food and eat it in here together. As a team?" Kat tentatively asked.

"And I can ask you questions?"

Ernie and Draco both laughed at Padma's comment. Kat just smiled before replying.

"Absolutely."

The rest of the day went well. They ate lunch and chatted about more than just Katherine's animagus form. They talked about their lives, who they were dating, gossiped about who others were dating and so on. They then split into their pairs and continued to do research until the end of the day. On her way out the door Kat called out to Draco.

"Don't forget, I won't be in until closer to 1 tomorrow. I'll see you then!"

* * *

The next day Kat quickly ran some errands and then met up with Ginny and about 11 for lunch.  
"What was so urgent that you needed to meet for lunch so soon?" Ginny asked Kat as soon as they were seated.

"I'm falling for Draco." Kat blurted out.

Ginny looked a bit shell-shocked but then she laughed.

"Why are you laughing at me? This is a big deal!" Kat practically screeched at her best friend.

"Oh I so saw this coming!" Ginny choked out in between her laughing fit.

"This is terrible. I can't believe this is happening to me. I mean it's super obvious that he's fit. I've always been attracted to him. But over the last couple of days. I've actually come to care for him. I don't want to just shag him anymore. I want to talk to him about things."

"What has he done?"

Kat took a deep breath and gave Ginny the basic overview of their lunch date and the conversation they had.

"I need to preface the next part of the story with I'm sorry for never telling you. I just. It never seemed like the right time. I'm an animagus. I learned how to do it our 7th year. I thought that an animagi would be extremely useful in trying to get information around Hogwarts undetected. So I talked to McGonagall. I had always been good at Transfiguration and I think we both needed something to take our minds off everything. She agreed to help me. It took me 4 months. I finally finished my full transformation right after the Christmas holidays. But unfortunately I'm not anything common, native to the area or small. I knew early on what my form would be but I was hoping for some reason that maybe I could still manage to use it. I used it for a little bit here and there. I also never told you because if I was the only one who knew the information, then you wouldn't have to lie. After graduation I never saw a point in bringing it up. But Draco mentioned animagi during our lunch and I told him. And then showed him. He was so understanding. I also told the team yesterday that I learned during our seventh year. I didn't tell them anything personal and he didn't say anything. He was so understanding about it all."

Kat quickly finished her story and stared at Ginny.

Ginny began to speak slowly.

"I'm not going to lie and tell you that I'm not upset that you didn't tell me. However, I understand your reasoning for it all so I'm just going to let it go for now."

Kat quickly grabbed Ginny's hands.

"Oh Gin you're the best. I'm so sorry. I've thought about telling you for ages but it always seemed like it's been too much time so you'll hate me. You're my best friend Gin, I couldn't this without you."

Ginny smiled "I get it, I really do. And you're my best friend too. Together forever okay?"

Kat just nodded in agreement.

"So what's your form?"

"A panther."

Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "It's funny, when a panther was what came out of your wand as your patronus I wasn't surprised. It fits you perfectly. So I'm not surprised at all that it's your animagi form. But you're right. That's so not inconspicuous or really useful for a lot of things other than fighting. Or stealth through the woods. But onto the original topic. It sounds like you and Draco have a lot in common and he's nicer. He's never going to be a saint and Merlin knows you won't either. But maybe you two are good for each other."  
"He's Draco Malfoy though!"

"And?"

"And he could have his choice of women. This little infatuation can only end in heartbreak."

"Well then it does and he's an idiot for letting you go. You know we could always decide to come out of the closet and just marry each other?"

Kat laughed and Ginny smiled, knowing that she had done her job for the day.

"Now go back to work. Act like normal and everything will work out okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Gin. I love you."

"I love you too. Now go! I'm late for practice!"

Kat walked out of the café thankful for her best friend more than ever.


	9. France

**A/N: Sorry that I'm a day late, but this chapter is much longer than usual so I hope that helps make up for it! There's only 2 more chapters left so enjoy!**

 **Also to the Guest who reviewed after last chapter, thank you for the review! Everyone wants to create a story that's completely original but with so many fics out there, it's hard to do! I really do just write for me and my sister but it's always good to hear that other people enjoy it! Thank you!**

 **-Casper**

Kat walked into the office after lunch feeling more upbeat than she had in days. She could go for days, even weeks, without talking to Harry, Hermione or the twins; however, since she had met Ginny she hadn't gone more than a few days without some sort of communication.

As soon as she walked into the room Padma called her over.

"Kat. Good you're here. We think that we have another artifact."

Malfoy, who had been lounging in one of the chairs, gracefully stood up.

"And you didn't mention it to me earlier?" He said in his usual drawl.

Padma tossed an incredulous look Malfoy's way.

"You would've stalked Kat down and taken her from her lunch. It wasn't going to hurt anyone to wait a few hours."

Ernie must have noticed that Draco was going to start a petty argument because he quickly interjected.

"On to the artifact. This is it." He then opened up a file and I peered at the photograph.

"It's a candle."

Padma and Ernie looked at each other triumphantly.

"It's not just any candle." Padma started to explain. "Once lit, this candle becomes irresistible to any person that can see the light. It attracts people and once someone looks at the candle directly, it draws them close to the candle. When someone is near enough to the candle, it begins to absorb their life essence while the person remains helpless. This process continues until the person dies."

Kat then exclaimed "It's just like the legend of the Candle of Life."

Malfoy scoffed "the Candle of Life. I never understood the name. It only gives life to itself correct?"

Ernie took over from Padma at this point. "According to the story, yes. However, according to our research, no. It really does give life. From what we can tell, if you add your blood to the candle before it is lit, then the candle ceases to have an effect on you. We also think there must be some sort of spell that goes along with putting the candle out because we think that the essence the candle absorbs can be then transferred to whomever has that spell."

Padma must have seen that Kat and Draco were having a hard time believing it because she quickly took over.

"I know it sounds crazy. But while researching we found a guy who had this candle for over 200 years. He had different names, and he passed himself off as his son. But it doesn't add up. Our only explanation is that it was the same man."

Malfoy still didn't look convinced. "If this is the case, then why didn't the Dark Lord," he amended his statement, albeit with an eye roll, when Ernie and Padma looked distinctly uncomfortable. "fine, Voldemort. Why didn't he ever search for this. Despite not being a permanent situation, he still attempted to use the philosopher's stone."

Padma looked upset that she didn't have an answer. Seeing this Kat hesitantly began to speak.

"Well, I don't know but maybe it has to do with reliance. The philosopher's stone was an object. Voldemort wouldn't have needed to use anything other than the stone. I think he would have hated to have to rely on other people, even if he was able to force them, in order to stay immortal."

Ernie looked frustrated that his briefing had gone off tangent. "It is beside the point. Whether or not it gives life or not, it definitely kills people and thus it should be the target of our mission."

Kat nodded her head. "Agreed. What's the plan?"

"Please tell me you both speak French." Kat answered Padma's question with a quick nod.

"Thank Merlin. As prominent purebloods from families that love tradition I assumed as much but it would've made this more difficult had you not. Currently the Dubois family owns the candle."

Draco interjected "The Dubois family?"

Padma nodded and Draco sighed "Well that will make things slightly more difficult. They are well known for their love of the dark arts. Their wards will be almost as good as the ones at Malfoy Manor."

Kat rolled her eyes at Draco's persistent narcissism but gestured that Padma should continue.

"We thought as much. In order to avoid you having to break down complex wards that would undoubtedly be detected, we came up with an alternative approach. They are hosting a party next week to showcase their private collection. It will be a whole week and we managed to get you an invite to the party and you will be staying on Dubois property."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage to get us an invite?"

Ernie puffed out his chest and looked incredibly smug.

"I created a background for you both. You are Monsieur and Madame Leveque. A newly married couple from Paris with well-hidden connections to the dark arts. The Dubois family discovered these connections and are interested in the wealthy family that will be in Paris for the foreseeable future."

"We're well recognized. There's no way the Dubois family won't know at least one of us."

Padma grinned. "Next to your polyjuice potion you will find bottled hair for both of you. Between your supply and some that we managed to persuade the minister to give us, you both have about 4 days' worth of potion. You'll need to find the candle in that time and get back to England. I've heard Paris is beautiful this time of year, have fun!"

Kat nodded impressed with the amount of detail that she had just been given about the mission.

"We'll need some sort of safe house with an international floo connection. It will need to be within easy apparating distance. Just in case."

"Already taken care of. That's where you'll be flooing to before the mission. You might have heard of it. Shell Cottage."

"Bill Weasley's old place? I had forgotten about that place."

Padma smiled. "You leave tomorrow morning. You'd best start packing."

* * *

The next morning Draco and Kat found themselves standing in Shell Cottage. Despite being small, it was well furnished and pleasant. They would be there for a little over a day before going to the party the next night.

Although Kat had decided to see where the relationship between her and Draco went, she was not prepared to pretend to be his wife for a whole week. As a result, other than when absolutely necessary, Kat avoided speaking to Draco before the party.

Kat double checked her overnight bag one final time before shrinking it down and placing it in her handbag. She fixed her makeup and adjusted her emerald green dress one final time before making her way downstairs to meet up with Draco. She tried not to be too pleased when she saw Draco glance up and down her outfit in obvious appreciation. As usual, Draco was wearing a brand new pair of dress robes and Kat tried her best to not stare.

"Do you have your polyjuice?" Kat asked Draco.

"Of course, you?"

"Yes. I'm glad that Padma grabbed hairs off of people roughly the same size as us. It makes this much simpler. Shall we?"

With a quick nod of affirmation, they both downed their first dose. A few moments later they had both transformed into someone else. Kat simply grabbed Draco's arm and a second later he apparated them both to the Dubois Estate.

* * *

The next night Kat sighed in relief when she felt her body morph back into her own. They were in their room in the Dubois estate; they had up a wide variety of shield charms surrounding their rooms. To Kat this was a god send, not only could they extend their polyjuice potion to last the entire week, but they could relax in their own bodies at night.

The previous day had been a flurry of introductions and constant conversation and despite the fact that they could not search for the candle, they both fell asleep almost immediately. When they woke up, took their polyjuice and got dressed before heading out to do some subtle investigating. Despite their best efforts the end of the day came and they were no closer to discovering if the candle was even in the house.

Kat glanced over from the mirror where she was washing her face to see Draco lying on the bed. She realized that falling asleep that night would be much more difficult now that she was fully conscious of the fact that they were sharing a bed together.

She walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Draco? Are you awake?"

"Yes." Draco mumbled without opening his eyes.

"We need to talk about our plan for tomorrow."

"What plan? We go in and continue to do what we've been doing."

Kat shook her head exasperatedly "Ah yes, because today was so successful."

Draco sat up at Kat's statement. "And I suppose you have a better suggestion?" He replied venomously.

"As a matter of fact I do." Kat sniped back.

"Well then be my guest."

"We've met every single guest in this house. No one other than the Dubois family knows about the candle. Our best bet is to try and become friendly with one of them."

Draco shook his head. "No chance. Monsieur and Madame Dubois are too smart for that."

Kat smirked "I wasn't talking about those two. They have a son. His wife was very much preoccupied with you earlier. We've given off the impression of a classic pureblood marriage and I think she's looking to capitalize upon the well-known custom of pureblood men sleeping with other women."

Draco looked astonished "You want me to sleep with her?"

Kat laughed to cover up her dismay at the thought.

"I'm talking about being friendly to her. Lead her on a bit. Maybe she'll bite. It's a better plan than we had today."

* * *

Kat stood near the drink table watching Draco across the room. It was taking all of her willpower to not crush the glass she was currently holding. True to their plan, Draco had sought out the young Madame Dubois and was being very friendly to her. He had been doing this all day and the young woman was definitely charmed. She kept touching his arm and laughing at everything he said.

Deciding that watching this would only infuriate her further she decided to wander around the room and people watch everybody else. She glanced at the time and realized that they needed to take their polyjuice in a little over 10 minutes. She looked around for Draco in order to inform him of the time. When she didn't see him she began to panic a bit and she began searching the room more intently. A few moments later she saw Draco with Dubois in a dark corner. She began to walk over and upon seeing how close the two were she narrowed her eyes in anger. She walked over, plastered the most fake smile on her face and spoke in the most sickeningly sweet voice she could muster.

"Excuse me, I must simply borrow my husband for a moment."

Then before Draco could protest she drug him away and into the hallway.

"Let go of my arm woman!" Draco angrily muttered as he pulled away from Kat.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you."

"I needed to tell you that you're almost out of time on your polyjuice. We don't need you transforming in the middle of the ballroom."

Draco raised his eyebrows "I still have about 10 minutes and I know you know that."

"Fine then, excuse me for caring."

Kat turned on her heel and went to leave when her arm was caught by Draco's hand.

"Oh no. You did not drag me out here for that. I want the truth."  
"The truth?! Now you're calling me a liar?!"

"Absolutely. You know what. We're not having this conversation here." Before he had even finished uttering that statement Draco had grabbed Kat by the arm and began to drag her to their room.

When they entered the room Kat jerked her arm away and stood angrily across the room. Draco proceeded to stare at her as if expecting her to say something. Kat just raised her right eyebrow in response.

"Seriously. You're not going to speak now?" Draco exclaimed.

When Kat's response was to glare he threw his hands up. "Bloody impossible witch. I suppose you don't care now that I found out that they have a secret wing for artifacts."

Kat was immensely happy to hear that but she was so angry that she ignored that part of his statement in favor of remaining silent.

A few minutes later the polyjuice wore off and Draco stalked over to a chair and threw himself into it.

"I'm going to sit here until you tell me what the problem is." He said stubbornly.

"The problem! The problem was that you were all over that woman in the middle of a bloody ballroom. It was completely inappropriate!"

"All over her! She was all over me! And if I recall correctly, this was your plan!"  
"The plan was to be friendly. Not look like you were about to shag in the middle of the ballroom!"

Draco paused at that. A strange look came across his face and he stood up from the chair and walked over to Kat.

"Aha. You're jealous."

"Jealous. Ha. In your dreams Malfoy."

By this point he had backed Kat up to a wall and was standing exceptionally close to her.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me it's not true then."

She glared defiantly at him. "It's not true."

He smirked and leaned to whisper in her ear. "You see, I don't believe you."

The next thing Kat knew, Draco had placed his lips on her jaw just below her ear. She failed to hold back a slight shiver as he did so. Smirking he moved to the other side of her face and did the same thing. Then he moved to her mouth and gently pressed his lips to the corners of her mouth.

At this point Kat threw caution to the wind and quickly reversed their position. Draco looked moderately confused but that look quickly faded when Kat placed her lips on his pulse point. Empowered by the light moan that he let out she then began to kiss her way up his neck and up to his mouth. When she reached his mouth she paused and looked Draco in the eyes. Upon seeing the darkening of his eyes that she knew represented lust, she kissed him. As soon as that barrier had been broken Draco reversed their position and pushed her into the wall. The gentle kisses had been replaced by a frenzied passion that Kat had not ever felt. She felt as if every kiss from Draco was setting her on fire. She threaded her fingers through his hair and when he moaned into her mouth, she began to pull on his hair. He responded by moving his arms from her back to the zipper on her dress and he slowly pulled her dress off of her body before placing his hands underneath her thighs and picking her up. While moving towards the bed she began attempting to unbutton his shirt. She was having difficulty so she ended up just pulling the shirt off, ripping it in the process.

He laid her on the bed before pulling off his trousers and joining her. She took full advantage of his now free torso and began to run her hands all over his body. He then began to move his mouth down across her breasts down to her thighs. By the time that he reached there she was panting and he knew it. He began to kiss on each thigh but never moving closer to where she wanted him to go.

"Tease."

"Complaining?"

She went to reply but he moved a bit closer and her only response was a moan. She grabbed his head and pulled him back up to her face. She then pulled off his boxers and guided his hardened length into her. They began to rock back and forth and eventually found a steady rhythm.

Draco knew that he wasn't going to be able to last much longer and he wanted to ensure that Kat came as well so he moved his hand down to help her out. He smirked when he heard her whimper when he touched her folds. Their pace sped up and when he pressed hard against her clit she came apart around him. With one final thrust he let himself come and he collapsed on top of her.

A few minutes later Kat had enough strength to move and she shifted to look at Draco. She looked up to see him looking at her with a softness in his grey eyes. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say so she closed it a moment later. She went to glare at him when she heard him chuckle. However, when she turned he just pulled her into his chest and they lay there for a while. Eventually he leans down and leisurely kisses her. When he pulls away he just looks at her.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" She asked.

"I've been wanting to do that for ages."

"Kiss me?"

"No. Just lie here with you."

"That's awfully sappy for you Malfoy."

"Oh I'm Malfoy again am I?"

Kat laughed. "Always."

* * *

It was almost dinner time when the two of them finally got out of bed and dressed. What had happened obviously needed to be talked about, but this was neither the time nor the place.

"Alright. So you'll go to dinner, make excuses for me about how I'm feeling unwell. During dinner I'll go search for the artifact and I'll meet you here later?"  
"Works for me."

She nodded and continued getting dressed.

"Oh and Katherine."  
"What?" She answered distractedly.

He turned her head with his hand and kissed her. "Good luck." With a final wink he walked out of the room.

About 20 minutes later, right in the middle of the first course Kat sneaked out of the room and into the wing that contained all of the family's rooms. She was currently under polyjuice that was not her cover, just to be on the safe side. Once in the correct wing, it did not take Kat very long to find the artifact room. Thankfully she was the charms expert out of the two of them, so she quickly sat down and began dismantling the wards. Soon enough she was in the room and searching for the candle. Once she found it, she placed it in a magic binding container and made her way back to her room, making sure she replaced the wards as best as she could. She had to hide a few times to escape the prying eyes of house elves but well before dessert she was back in the room.

Realizing that she still had an hour or so until Draco would be back, she began to pack up their items. When she started hearing people return from dinner, she dimmed her lights and sat waiting. There she sat until finally the clock chimed midnight. Draco had officially been missing for 3 hours. Though it pained her, she did the only thing that she could do. She shrunk the luggage and placed it in a handbag. Then she opened her window to the grounds, transformed into her animagus form, grabbed the bag and jumped out of the window. She snuck around the grounds, ensuring that she wasn't seen and once she was able to apparate, she went directly to Shell Cottage. She sent a message via floo to Padma and Ernie telling them that the item was in Shell Cottage. She quickly grabbed a few items and then disapperated to return to the Dubois Estate.

* * *

Kat snuck back into her room before sneaking out and searching for their dungeons. Once down there she quickly transformed again. Although her form was not innocuous, her senses were heightened and as such began to sniff around trying to track Draco. They had never been down there so as soon as she smelled Draco she knew she was on the right track. She blended into the darkness pretty well and as such was able to sneak into their main holding cells. The younger Dubois was sitting at a table obviously waiting for something. She heard a noise come from behind her and quickly hid. The elder Dubois came walking around the corner.

"I finally was able to get away from your mother without attracting suspicion. What is this all about? Wait, is that Draco Malfoy?"

"Monsieur Leveque had been pretty chummy with Vivienne all day. All throughout dinner she couldn't stop staring at him. I just wanted to give him a little friendly advice. I stunned him and left him down here. Imagine my surprise when I came down and this man was where I left Monsieur Leveque."

It took all of Kat's strength to hold back a laugh. _Of course, it would be Malfoy's charm that got him into trouble. I'm never going to let him live this down._

"I woke him up and then had some fun trying to get him to speak. He held out much longer than I imagined before he passed out. He didn't even scream, it was incredibly disappointing."

That comment got Kat's blood boiling and when both men turned to look at Draco, Kat transformed back into her human form and quickly stunned both men.

She walked past their bodies and couldn't resist kicking the both of their unconscious bodies. _This is better than they deserve._

Realizing that Draco probably needed her attention she refrained from doing anything other than tying them up. She unlocked the cell he was in before rushing over to his unconscious body. Despite knowing that the Cruciatus Curse shows very little physically damage on the outside of the body, she checked over his body anyways. Satisfied that she couldn't do anything for him there she levitated him and snuck up to the main entrance hall. Apparently Dubois had turned on the wards to the house and not just the grounds because she had to set Draco down in the hall while she worked on taking down the wards. They were excessively complicated and Kat decided that she didn't want to waste any time so she took a page out of Ginny's book.

She stood up, raised her wand and blasted the wards apart. It wasn't subtle and everyone in the estate would have felt the change, but it was quick. She turned around to grab Draco when she felt a change in energy around her. She dropped to the ground and just barely dodged a Conjunctivitis Curse. She rolled behind a pillar and peeked around. She saw four men that she recognized as business partners of Dubois. When one threw a Cruciatus curse her way she realized that they were more of the curse first, ask questions later sort. With Draco still in the open she tossed a nonverbal spell at the chain holding up the chandelier. She got lucky and it fell knocking out two of the four men. She was contemplating her chances against two when a shout grabbed her attention.

"Look. Isn't that Malfoy. From England?"

When she realized that they wouldn't hesitate to curse an unconscious man, she jumped out into the open in an attempt to distract them. They were quicker than she gave them credit for because they retaliated quickly and she was soon on the defensive. Deciding a little creativity was called for she used the Avis spell quickly followed by the Oppugno jinx. The birds flew at the men and that distracted them enough for a quick Reducto to one and a Stupefy to the other. Despite being exhausted from the sheer quantity of magic that she had done over the past 6 hours, she levitated Draco out of the house and across the grounds. She found the hole in the wards that she left earlier and snuck out and apparated to Shell Cottage.

As soon as she disapperated she knew that she was in trouble, she felt like the her right leg was on fire. She focused with every ounce of power she had left in following through with the apparation. When they arrived, Kat saw Ernie and Padma waiting for them. She managed a weak "hi" before she passed out.


	10. Fight

Kat woke up to darkness. She reached around searching for her wand and when she couldn't find it she began to panic. In her panic, she twisted and hissed when she felt her right leg move.

"You're awake!" A voice exclaimed from the side of her bed.

Kat jumped but relaxed when the lights turned on and she saw a sleepy Padma sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"Merlin. You scared me half to death Padma!"

"Sorry! I woke up when I heard you start moving. When you hissed I knew you were awake! How are you feeling?!"

"Exhausted. And my right leg is on fire. What happened?"

"Well, in case you hadn't realized, you're in St. Mungos. We were waiting for you when you got to Shell Cottage. I'm honestly surprised that you were able to apparate in the state you were in. The healers say that you were way past comfortable magical levels for apparation. That's why you feel so exhausted. But you splinched yourself. You were missing an entire chunk out of your right calf and your right thigh. You also were hit in the chest by a pretty nasty splicing hex."

Kat's eyes widened when she heard the extent of the damage.- She relaxed against the pillows but almost immediately she straightened back up.

"What about Draco?! Is he okay? Where is he?"

Padma stood up and gently pushed Kat back down onto the bed.

"Calm down, your leg still isn't healed yet! Draco's fine. He was subjected to the Cruciatus Curse but the healers have said that he'll be fine. Due to his, past, he seemed to have a higher tolerance to the after effects of dark magic than most. He'll be fine. He woke up last night."

Kat was unwilling to wait. She gently removed Padma's hands and sat up before swinging her legs around to the side of the bed. Ignoring the shooting pain in her leg she stood up beside the bed.

"Where is he?"

Padma must have seen that Kat wasn't going to budge because she quickly relented.

"Fine. I'll take you there."

* * *

Kat was incredibly thankful that Padma walked slowly to Draco's room. Despite that, she continued to hobble a good distance behind the former Ravenclaw. Unwilling to show weakness, she was hoping that Draco would still be asleep when she walked in.

When they walked in Ernie quickly vacated the chair next to Draco's chair. She walked with an unsteady gait over to the newly vacant chair. Unfortunately she didn't reach it before Draco woke up.

"What the bloody hell did you do to yourself?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Kat muttered.

Ernie rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, if apparating with almost no energy left and then splinching a good chunk of your right leg is fine. Then yes. She's fine."

Kat ignored the glare that Draco sent her way in favor of staring Ernie down until he stepped a few feet away. She then turned back towards Draco.

"Really I'm fine. I'll be right as rain in a few days. How are you feeling?"  
He shrugged his shoulders.  
"I've felt better."

He leaned back against the pillows before suddenly straightening.

"Wait, that means that you were the person who got me out of there?"

Kat was confused. "Umm, yes."

Draco exploded at Kat. "How could you? You know how dangerous that artifact is."

Kat, confused, took a moment before replying. "And your point is?"

"You risked everything by coming for me! You can't risk the mission for someone else."

By this point Kat had stood up and her voice had gotten rather shrill.

"Risk the mission? By coming for you?"

"Yes by coming for me! The artifact could've fallen back into their hands!"

Kat, now realizing exactly why Draco was angry, was both amused and exceptionally angry.

"Listen here, I took the artifact back before I came back for your sorry arse. I'm quite offended that you think so lowly of me, and that you think I don't care about you or these missions. Secondly, of course I came back for you. I care about you, you stupid git."

Without waiting for a reply, Kat stubbornly marched out of the room.

* * *

A week later and Kat was finally back in the office. She was lounging around in one of the chairs reading a recent book on Ancient Runes and their warding properties when Draco walked in. He wasn't alone however, Kingsley walked in behind him. Kat tried to catch Draco's eye but he wouldn't look at her.

"I want to apologize for the trouble that I've brought. I'm a liability to this team. I was caught and I'm so easily recognizable. If it had been a random bloke off the street, they wouldn't have known who he was and a lie could have easily been concocted. I can't keep putting this team or the mission at risk. So, I'm quitting."

 _What the bloody hell is this? This isn't how Malfoy acts. This is excessively self-deprecating. I'm confused._

But before Kat could voice a question, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room leaving a very confused group behind him.


	11. Finite

**A/N: So this is it. The End.. This is the first non-one shot that I've ever finished so it's a little bittersweet. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it and please read some of my other stories!**

 **-Casper**

"And then he just walked out! Like what. This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about."

"Kat. Calm down. Take a deep breath."

Kat breathed in and out while Ginny looked on expectantly.

"Are you calm now?"

Kat shook her head.

"Good, now tell me. Why do you care so much about this?"

"What do you mean? How am I supposed to break in a new partner?"

"Are you sure that this is about that?" Ginny looked at Kat expectantly.

Kat opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"I think I'm in love with the git."

Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Well that I knew a while back."

Kat gasped in shock.

"What? When? How?"

Ginny laughed.

"In all my years of knowing you, we've gossiped about boys and relationships, but never once have I seen you so conflicted over someone. That's how I knew."

"Exactly! I don't get conflicted. This is ridiculous. There's got to be a solution."

"There is. Go talk to him."

Kat shook her head emphatically. "I can't do that."

Ginny glared at her.

"The Kat I know, my best friend, would never sit here and wallow over a guy. Now you have a couple of options, sit here and do nothing or you can get off your sorry arse and do something about the whole situation."

With that last comment, Ginny stood up and walked away.

* * *

Kat apparated to her flat where she proceeded to pace. It only took her 10 minutes before she grabbed her cloak and apparated right outside Malfoy Manor. She probed at the wards but it didn't take long to realize that it would take hours to break through by herself.

She frowned to herself but then took a deep breath, raised her wands and proceeded to hammer at the wards. About 10 minutes later she was beginning to feel the exhaustion from the continuous bombardment when Malfoy appeared next to her.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"I needed to talk to you. I know you're linked to the wards to I decided that if I tossed enough magic at it then you'd show up."

"You're bloody lucky that I didn't call the aurors with all the racket you were causing."

Kat just raised an eyebrow at that.

"What do you want Herondale?"  
 _You, you daft idiot._ Kat's subconscious screamed but she took a deep breath before speaking.

"You're an idiot for quitting. I'm not here to try and comfort you because you're right. You are more of a liability on missions because of who you are. But when has that ever stopped you before?"

"This time it's putting other people in danger."  
"Thanks. I see how much faith you have in your friends. We can take care of ourselves. Now the Draco that I've fallen in love with wouldn't sit here and wallow in self-pity. Now when that Draco decides to reinhabit your body come and talk to me. So stop being a pansy arsed Hufflepuff, wait. That gives you too much credit. They have loyalty and persistence. Something you could use right about now."

Without waiting for a response, Kat apparated away leaving Draco staring at the empty space she had occupied.

* * *

A few days later Kat was back in the office working on a modified invisibility spell when Padma walked into the office. She glanced over and shared a small smile with her before returning to the spell. Kat and Padma had gotten dinner the night before and Kat told Padma about her conversation with Draco.

Padma set her bag down before walking over to Kat.

"Still nothing?"

"No. I just don't know what to think. I've said my piece and now all that's left is to wait."  
Padma pursed her lips.

"Well all we can do now is be patient I suppose. I really liked our team and I don't want to have to have a new person."  
"Agreed. Patience is also not my strong suit."  
Padma laughed.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Padma walked back over to her desk when the door opened again. They both glanced up expecting to see Ernie but they were surprised when Draco walked in as well.

Malfoy stopped in the doorway and looked around the room before his glance finally rested on Kat's face.

"You were right. I was wallowing in my own self-pity and I was being a Hufflepuff about the whole situation."

He continued on ignoring Ernie's protests at the Hufflepuff comment.

"So if you'll still have me back, I'd like to rejoin the team. Just don't get used to being right because that's my job."

Kat just smiled before walking up to him. She kissed him and threaded her fingers with his.

"We've got another mission. You ready?"


End file.
